• Title/Summary/Keyword: Biological information

Search Result 2,590, Processing Time 0.035 seconds

The College Students' Attitude toward Terminal Care and Euthanasia (대학생들의 임종진료에 대한 태도 - 안락사를 중심으로 -)

  • Choi, Youn-Seon;Shin, Jong-Min;Lee, Young-Mee;Lee, Tai-Ho;Hong, Myung-Ho;Kim, Jun-Suk;Yeom, Chang-Hwan
    • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
    • /
    • v.2 no.1
    • /
    • pp.16-22
    • /
    • 1999
  • Purpose : Today, people usually die in hospitals and institution-sterile and strange, and equipped with a complex range of technology capable of supporting and prolonging life, frequently only biological one, when a return to health and vitality is no longer possible. Consequently, 'dying with dignity' has become a slogan of opposition to useless and degrading prolongation of life when a patient's organ, though still minimally functional, can no longer support or permit the exercise of self-fulfilling personal control over life's events. Dying with dignity, however, means entirely different things to different people. This study is to investigate the college students' attitude on terminal care and passive euthanasia. Methods : During June 1997, 337 college students participated in this study by responding to the pre-made questionnaire. It deft with the attitude to passive euthanasia, hospice, the most suffering fear facing the death, the preferred place and person to be with if dying. Results : 63.2% of subjects agreed to passive euthanasia. Only 14.2.% of college students can explain the concept of hospice, exactly They got the information about hospice by TV(43%), book(33.5%), religious group(12%) in order. The preferred death place was home(76.6%) and hospital(11.9%) in order. The Most suffering fear facing the death were about unknown(41.5%), loosing colleague(13.6%), pain(11%), isolation(6.5%) in order. Conclusion : About two-thirds of college students agreed to passive euthanasia. But euthanasia is dangerous and unnecessary. We should vigorously promote programmes of education in hospice and palliative medicine and care.

  • PDF

THE CURRENT STATUS OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING IN THE USA

  • Webster, John G.
    • Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
    • /
    • v.1992 no.05
    • /
    • pp.27-47
    • /
    • 1992
  • Engineers have developed new instruments that aid in diagnosis and therapy Ultrasonic imaging has provided a nondamaging method of imaging internal organs. A complex transducer emits ultrasonic waves at many angles and reconstructs a map of internal anatomy and also velocities of blood in vessels. Fast computed tomography permits reconstruction of the 3-dimensional anatomy and perfusion of the heart at 20-Hz rates. Positron emission tomography uses certain isotopes that produce positrons that react with electrons to simultaneously emit two gamma rays in opposite directions. It locates the region of origin by using a ring of discrete scintillation detectors, each in electronic coincidence with an opposing detector. In magnetic resonance imaging, the patient is placed in a very strong magnetic field. The precessing of the hydrogen atoms is perturbed by an interrogating field to yield two-dimensional images of soft tissue having exceptional clarity. As an alternative to radiology image processing, film archiving, and retrieval, picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) are being implemented. Images from computed radiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, and ultrasound are digitized, transmitted, and stored in computers for retrieval at distributed work stations. In electrical impedance tomography, electrodes are placed around the thorax. 50-kHz current is injected between two electrodes and voltages are measured on all other electrodes. A computer processes the data to yield an image of the resistivity of a 2-dimensional slice of the thorax. During fetal monitoring, a corkscrew electrode is screwed into the fetal scalp to measure the fetal electrocardiogram. Correlations with uterine contractions yield information on the status of the fetus during delivery To measure cardiac output by thermodilution, cold saline is injected into the right atrium. A thermistor in the right pulmonary artery yields temperature measurements, from which we can calculate cardiac output. In impedance cardiography, we measure the changes in electrical impedance as the heart ejects blood into the arteries. Motion artifacts are large, so signal averaging is useful during monitoring. An intraarterial blood gas monitoring system permits monitoring in real time. Light is sent down optical fibers inserted into the radial artery, where it is absorbed by dyes, which reemit the light at a different wavelength. The emitted light travels up optical fibers where an external instrument determines O2, CO2, and pH. Therapeutic devices include the electrosurgical unit. A high-frequency electric arc is drawn between the knife and the tissue. The arc cuts and the heat coagulates, thus preventing blood loss. Hyperthermia has demonstrated antitumor effects in patients in whom all conventional modes of therapy have failed. Methods of raising tumor temperature include focused ultrasound, radio-frequency power through needles, or microwaves. When the heart stops pumping, we use the defibrillator to restore normal pumping. A brief, high-current pulse through the heart synchronizes all cardiac fibers to restore normal rhythm. When the cardiac rhythm is too slow, we implant the cardiac pacemaker. An electrode within the heart stimulates the cardiac muscle to contract at the normal rate. When the cardiac valves are narrowed or leak, we implant an artificial valve. Silicone rubber and Teflon are used for biocompatibility. Artificial hearts powered by pneumatic hoses have been implanted in humans. However, the quality of life gradually degrades, and death ensues. When kidney stones develop, lithotripsy is used. A spark creates a pressure wave, which is focused on the stone and fragments it. The pieces pass out normally. When kidneys fail, the blood is cleansed during hemodialysis. Urea passes through a porous membrane to a dialysate bath to lower its concentration in the blood. The blind are able to read by scanning the Optacon with their fingertips. A camera scans letters and converts them to an array of vibrating pins. The deaf are able to hear using a cochlear implant. A microphone detects sound and divides it into frequency bands. 22 electrodes within the cochlea stimulate the acoustic the acoustic nerve to provide sound patterns. For those who have lost muscle function in the limbs, researchers are implanting electrodes to stimulate the muscle. Sensors in the legs and arms feed back signals to a computer that coordinates the stimulators to provide limb motion. For those with high spinal cord injury, a puff and sip switch can control a computer and permit the disabled person operate the computer and communicate with the outside world.

  • PDF

Investigation of lifespan related genes of the silkmoth, Bombyx mori L (누에나방 수명관련 특이발현 유전자 탐색)

  • Choi, Kwang-Ho;Goo, Tae-Won;Kim, Seong-Ryul;Kim, Sung-Wan;Kang, Seok-Woo;Kang, Pil-Don
    • Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
    • /
    • v.51 no.2
    • /
    • pp.211-217
    • /
    • 2013
  • In general, the mean silkmoth lifespan is around 8 days for female and 5 days for male. But, the duration of J037 strain's lifespan is remarkably long in both sexes. On the contrary, the Daizo(sdi) strain has a remarkably short lifetime. The differences in adult lifetime among various silkworm strains has been suggested that the adult lifetime may be genetically controlled. In this experiment, using J037 and Daizo strains we investigated genetic factors related to the adult lifetime of silkworm. We constructed the full-length cDNA library from the adult male of the J037 strain. A total of 2,688 clones were randomly selected, and we performed a differential display hybridization with cDNA probes generated from J037 and Daizo adult males. In conclusion, 193 clones were identified as differential expressed genes, and 154 unique genes were generated after the assembly of 193 clones. Of the 154 unique genes, the most abundant genes were cytochrome oxidase subunit-1 gene(9 times) and unknown(clone ID; 1-50) gene(5 times). The functional groups of these unique genes with matches in the AmiGo database were constructed according to their putative molecular functions. Among thirteen functional categories, the largest group was unclassified protein(24%). In addition, we analyzed the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the most highly occurred gene(1-50, EF434397), which consisted of 240 amino acids. However, it is confirmed yet that these genes really have an affected on the silkworms longevity. Further studies on these molecules biological roles will give us well-fined information about mechanisms of insect aging and/or scenesence.

Development of a Model of Brain-based Evolutionary Scientific Teaching for Learning (뇌기반 진화적 과학 교수학습 모형의 개발)

  • Lim, Chae-Seong
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
    • /
    • v.29 no.8
    • /
    • pp.990-1010
    • /
    • 2009
  • To derive brain-based evolutionary educational principles, this study examined the studies on the structural and functional characteristics of human brain, the biological evolution occurring between- and within-organism, and the evolutionary attributes embedded in science itself and individual scientist's scientific activities. On the basis of the core characteristics of human brain and the framework of universal Darwinism or universal selectionism consisted of generation-test-retention (g-t-r) processes, a Model of Brain-based Evolutionary Scientific Teaching for Learning (BEST-L) was developed. The model consists of three components, three steps, and assessment part. The three components are the affective (A), behavioral (B), and cognitive (C) components. Each component consists of three steps of Diversifying $\rightarrow$ Emulating (Executing, Estimating, Evaluating) $\rightarrow$ Furthering (ABC-DEF). The model is 'brain-based' in the aspect of consecutive incorporation of the affective component which is based on limbic system of human brain associated with emotions, the behavioral component which is associated with the occipital lobes performing visual processing, temporal lobes performing functions of language generation and understanding, and parietal lobes, which receive and process sensory information and execute motor activities of the body, and the cognitive component which is based on the prefrontal lobes involved in thinking, planning, judging, and problem solving. On the other hand, the model is 'evolutionary' in the aspect of proceeding according to the processes of the diversifying step to generate variants in each component, the emulating step to test and select useful or valuable things among the variants, and the furthering step to extend or apply the selected things. For three components of ABC, to reflect the importance of emotional factors as a starting point in scientific activity as well as the dominant role of limbic system relative to cortex of brain, the model emphasizes the DARWIN (Driving Affective Realm for Whole Intellectual Network) approach.

Identification of the Pig β-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 1 (pB3GNT1) that is Involved in Poly-N-acetyllactosamine (poly-LacNAc) Synthesis (Poly-N-acetyllactosamine (poly-LacNAc) 합성에 관여하는 돼지 β-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (pB3GNT1) 유전자 동정)

  • Kim, Ji-Youn;Hwang, Hwan-Jin;Chung, Hak-Jae;Hochi, Shinichi;Park, Mi-Ryung;Byun, Sung June;Oh, Keon Bong;Yang, Hyeon;Kim, Kyung-Woon
    • Journal of Life Science
    • /
    • v.28 no.4
    • /
    • pp.389-397
    • /
    • 2018
  • The structure of glycan residues attached to glycoproteins can influence the biological activity, stability, and safety of pharmaceutical proteins delivered from transgenic pig milk. The production of therapeutic glycoprotein in transgenic livestock animals is limited, as the glycosylation of mammary gland cells and the production of glycoproteins with the desired homogeneous glycoform remain a challenge. The ${\beta}$-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminylatransferase1 (B3GNT1) gene is an important enzyme that attaches N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) to galactose (Gal) residues for protein glycosylation; however, there is limited information about pig glycosyltransferases. Therefore, we cloned the pig B3GNT1 (pB3GNT1) and investigated its functional properties that could attach N-acetylglucosamine to galactose residue. Using several different primers, a partial pB3GNT1 mRNA sequence containing the full open reading frame (ORF) was isolated from liver tissue. The ORF of pB3GNT1 contained 1,248 nucleotides and encoded 415 amino acid residues. Organ-dependent expression of the pB3GNT1 gene was confirmed in various organs from adult and juvenile pigs. The pB3GNT1 mRNA expression level was high in the muscles of the heart and small intestine but was lower in the lungs. For functional characterization of pB3GNT1, we established a stable expression of the pB3GNT1 gene in the porcine kidney cell line (PK-15). As a result, it was suggested that the glycosylation pattern of pB3GNT1 expression in PK-15 cells did not affect the total sialic acid level but increased the poly N-acetyllactosamine level. The results of this study can be used to produce glycoproteins with improved properties and therapeutic potential for the generation of desired glycosylation using transgenic pigs as bioreactors.

A Study on the Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure among Farmers (농약살포 농민의 농약노출로 인한 건강피해에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Kyoung-Mu;Min, Sun-Young;Chung, Moon-Ho
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
    • /
    • v.25 no.2
    • /
    • pp.245-263
    • /
    • 2000
  • This study was conducted to provide the basic data about the health effects of pesticide exposure among farmers for agricultural health study. We analyzed 412 self-administered questionnaires collected from the male farmers who spray pesticides in Kyoung-ju area, Korea. Survey questions were about chronic symptoms, acute symptoms while pesticide spraying, pesticide intoxication accident, safety rules, protective equipments etc. The correlations among the variables related to pesticide exposure and the factors in acute pesticide poisoning and chronic symptoms of farmers were also analyzed. For chronic symptoms, the prevalence of 'tiredness and languor', 'lumbago', 'nocturia', 'shoulder pain', 'numbness', and, for acute symptoms while pesticide spraying, the experience rate of 'itching sense of skin', 'dizziness/headache', 'fatigue', 'eye glaring' were high compared with other symptoms. For 'experience of intoxication accident by pesticide in family', 7.1% of the subjects experienced the accident and the causes were pesticide spraying, food contamination by pesticide, suicide etc. Among safety rules, 'take a bath after spraying', 'change clothes after spraying' were kept relatively well, and, for protective equipments, hat, boots, mask, gloves, protective clothes(lower) were put on relatively well. The factors associated with acute pesticide poisoning were the extent of keeping safety rules, spraying time, orchard cultivation, agricultural area and spraying days per year etc. And the factors associated with chronic symptoms were acute symptoms while pesticide spraying, agricultural area, farming career, extent of keeping safety rules, extent of agricultural work and the pesticide exposure index etc. From these results, it is suggested that to reduce the health effects by pesticide exposure among farmers, the education to promote to keep safety rules and wear protective equipments, and information services should be recommended. And further studies on the long term health effects of pesticide exposure among farmers are required.

  • PDF

Characteristics of Fish Assemblage by Reservoir Size in Yeongsan·Seomjin River Watershed in Korea (영산강·섬진강 수계 호소의 규모별 어류군집 특성)

  • Park, Sang-Hyeon;Kim, Jeong-Hui;Baek, Seung-Ho;Choi, Ho-Seung;Kim, Dae-Won;Ko, Eui-Jeong;Kim, Hyun-Woo
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
    • /
    • v.53 no.3
    • /
    • pp.229-240
    • /
    • 2020
  • In this study, the results of fish assemblage survey for 16 reservoirs in the Yeongsan·Seomjin-River watershed were presented with fish assemblage characteristics analysis in relation to reservoir size. The survey method including number of sampling sites was followed the "Biomonitoring survey and assessment manual" of the Ministry of Environment/National Institute of Environmental Research (MOE/NIER), and the reservoirs were categorized as three size groups, small, medium or large reservoirs, based on the MOE/NIER as well. Total 13 family classified into 44 species were collected from 2018 (7 reservoirs) to 2019 (9 reservoirs), and the dominant and subdominant species were Hemiculter eigenmanni (Relative abundance, RA, 32.9%) and Lepomis macrochirus (RA, 31.4%), respectively. As a result of the analysis in relation to the reservoir size, the average (±standard deviation) number of species of the small, medium and large reservoirs were 11±2.9, 14.3±2.1, 22.7±0.6, respectively, which showed positive correlation with the reservoir size. Total 6 fish assemblage characteristics(number of species, number of individuals, richness index, herbivorous fish ratio, carnivorous fish ratio, exotic fish ratio) showed significant differences between the each reservoir size groups (P<0.05). As a result of cluster analysis, 16 reservoirs were clustered into 5 groups with 60% similarity, and the each reservoirs seems to be clustered depends on the distance from each other, watershed and their historical geology rather than size. These results are baseline information for the understanding of fish assemblage in Korean reservoirs, important for establishing management policy of reservoirs in the Yeongsan·Seomjin-River watershed.

Biological Monitoring of Paint Handling Workers exposed to PAHs using Urinary 1-Hydroxypyrene (다핵방향족탄화수소류에 노출된 페인트 취급 근로자에서 요 중 1- Hydroxypyrene을 이용한 생물학적 모니터링)

  • Lee, Jong-Seong;Kim, Eun-A;Lee, Yong-Hag;Moon, Deog-Hwan;Kim, Kwang-Jong
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
    • /
    • v.15 no.2
    • /
    • pp.124-134
    • /
    • 2005
  • To investigate the exposure effect of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), we measured airborne total PAHs as an external dose, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) as an internal dose of PAHs exposure, and analyzed the relationship between urinary 1-OHP concentration and PAHs exposure. The study population contained 44 workers in steel-pipe coating and paint manufacture industries. The airborne PAHs was obtained during survey day, and urine were sampled at the end of shift. Personal information on age, body weight, height, eniployment duration, smoking habit, and alcohol consumption was obtained by a structured questionnaire. Airborne PAHs were analyzed by the gas chromatograph with mass selective detector. Urinary 1-OHP levels were analyzed by the high performance liquid chromatograph with ultraviolet wavelength detector. For statistical estimation, t-test, ${\chi}^2$-test, analysis of variance, correlation analysis, arid regression analysis were executed by SPSS/PC (Windows version 10). The mean of environmental total PAHs was $87.8{\pm}7.81{\mu}g/m^3$. The mean concentration ($526.5{\pm}2.85{\mu}g/m^3$) of workers in steel-pipe coating industries using coal tar enamel was the higher than that ($17.5{\pm}3.36{\mu}g/m^3$) of workers in paint manufacture industries using coal tar paint. The mean of urinary 1-OHP concentration ($51.63{\pm}3.144{\mu}\;mol/mol$ creatinine) of workers in steel-pipe coating industries was the higher than that ($2.33{\pm}4.709{\mu}\;mol/mol$ creatinine) of workers in paint manufacture industries. The mean of urinary 1-OHP concentration of smokers was the higher than that of non-smokers. There was significant correlation between the urinary concentration of 1-OHP and the environmental concentration of PAHs (r=O.S48, p<0.001), pyrene(r=0.859, p<0.001), and urinary cotinine (r=0.324, p<0.05). The regression equation between the urinary concentration of 1-OHP in ${\mu}g/g$ creatinine($C_{1-OHP}$) and airborne concentration of PAHs (or pyrene) in ${\mu}g/m^3$ ($C_{PAHs}$ or Cpyrene) is: Log ($C_{1-OHP}$)=-0.650+0.889×Log($C_{PAHs}$), where $R^2=0.694$ and n=38 for p<0.001.Log ($C_{1-OHP}$)=1.087+0.707${\times}$Log(Cpyrene), where $R^2=0.713$ and n=38 for p<0.001. From the results of stepwise multiple regression analysis about 1-OHP, significant independents were total PAHs and urinary cotinine (adjusted $R^2=0.743$, p<0.001). In this study, there were significant correlation between the urinary concentration of 1-OHP and the airborne concentration of PAHs. The urinary 1-OHP was effective index as a biomarker of airborne PAHs in workplace. But it was influenced by non-occupational PAHs source, smoking.

Ecological Examinations of the Radial Growth of Pine Trees (Pinus densiflora S. et Z.) on Mt. Namsan and the Potential Effects of Current Level of Air Pollutants to the Growth of the Trees in Central Seoul, Korea.

  • Kim, Eun-Shik
    • Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
    • /
    • v.10 no.E
    • /
    • pp.371-386
    • /
    • 1994
  • Ecological examinations of the radial growth Patterns of pine trees(Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc) growing on Mt. Namsan in central Seoul were made to test a Proposition that the pine trees decline due to the influence of air pollution and acid rain, which was proposed by some researchers in Korea, and the potential effects of current level of air pollutants to the growth of the Pine trees in central Seoul have been speculated. Tree-rings of 40 trees sampled at 3 sites of Mt. Namsan were prepared and examined using a Computer-aided Tree-Ring Measuring System at Kookmin University, Korea. Air Pollutant data collected by the Ministry of Environment( MOE ) and the Forestry Research Institute(FRI) were used to infer the general conditions of the environment. Correlation analysis was applied to the data set of tree growth and the other environmental factors. General information derived from the close examination of the tree-rings and the data on air pollution, drought and the other biological conditions suggested that the growth of the pine trees was severely affected by the occurrence of drought(climatic variation), the prevalence of the pine leaf gall midges(insects), and the suppression by the black locust trees(Robinia pseudo-acacia L.) (competition among trees). While the current condition of air pollution in Seoul cannot be categorized as good, the concentrations of air pollutants are not so high as to cause acute damages to the trees. In addition, while the data of rain acidity showed episodic low PHs of under 4.0, the average of them is far less acidic than those which were observed in either northeastern United States or central Europe, where the decline of trees were not solely attributed to any of the air pollutants. Considering the sequential facts that one of the most important environmental factors that affect the growth of trees is weather condition of the forest that the proposition of the decline of the pine trees was made without careful examination of the growth patterns and past growth history of them as well as the complex influences of many other factors including the weather conditions to the growth of trees, and that no objective explanation has been made on the causal relationships between the current condition of air pollution and the growth of the trees, such a proposition should be evaluated as invalid for the explanation of tree growth on Mt. Namsan in central Seoul, Korea. The author evaluates the factors of air pollution (including acid rain) as the predisposing factors, which may have the Potentials to chronically affect the tree growth at the forest ecosystem on Mt. Namsan for a long period of time. Ecosystem ecological studies should be further carried out to carefully explain both the functional and the structural aspects of the ecosystem processes, which include the biogeochemistry and the long-term changes of soil conditions as well as the growth of the other tree species on the mountain.

  • PDF

Antioxidant Activities of Extract Fractions of Leaves from Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) by Cultivars (비파의 품종별 항산화 활성 평가)

  • Shin, Hyun-Jin;Kim, Kyoung-Hee;Hwang, Hye-Rim;Kim, Na-Young;Kim, Sung-Hwan;Yook, Hong-Sun
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
    • /
    • v.41 no.8
    • /
    • pp.1029-1034
    • /
    • 2012
  • In this study, we compared the antioxidant activities of three loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) by cultivars (Daebang, Bubang and native cultivar). The leaves were extracted by 80% ethanol and then fractionated with various solvents (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water) for biological activities and bioactive compounds analysis. Total polyphenol content of extracts and fractions was in the range of 84.93~478.50 mg/g gallic acid equivalent (GAE). From highest to lowest GAE, the fractions were n-butanol> ethyl acetate> n-hexane> 80% ethanol> water. Among the three cultivars, the highest polyphenol content was found from native cultivar. As for DPPH radical scavenging activity, the n-butanol fraction showed the highest activity, and native cultivar was the highest on the $IC_{50}$ values (0.18 mg/mL). In the nitrite scavenging activity, the ethyl acetate fraction (54.99~60.86%) showed the most effective activity on the Bubang cultivar was higher than others. The ursolic acid content of the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest (51.41 mg/g) in the Daebang cultivar. Based on all these results;the Bubang cultivar showed relatively higher antioxidant and nitrite scavenging activities, but the ursolic acid content was higher in the Daebang cultivar. These results suggest that extracts from loquats (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) can be used as bioactive and functional materials that could be important information for industrial use in the future.